memeorandum: Senate Republicans start their version of Obamacare repeal (Jennifer Haberkorn/Politico)

7:15 PM ET, May 25, 2017

Top Items:

Republican candidate charged with assault after ‘body-slamming’ Guardian reporter — Audio of Greg Gianforte attacking Ben Jacobs corroborated by Fox News journalists in the room, who described candidate ‘slamming him to the ground’ — The Republican candidate for Montana's congressional seat …

Fox News:

Greg Gianforte: Fox News team witnesses GOP House candidate ‘body slam’ reporter — The race to fill Montana's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives took a violent turn Wednesday, and a crew from the Fox News Channel, including myself, witnessed it firsthand.

The Billings / Associated Press:

Gazette opinion: We're pulling our endorsement of Greg Gianforte — In this March 6, 2017, file photo, Greg Gianforte, right, receives congratulations from a supporter in Helena. Montana voters are heading to the polls Thursday to decide a nationally watched congressional election amid uncertainty …

Discussion: New York Times, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Week, Raw Story, Media Matters for America and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »

Felix Biederman / Washington Post:
Face it: The body-slammed reporter did just what you would have done

Discussion: ABC News, The Atlantic and Daily Wire

Edmund Kozak / LifeZette:
Montana Assault Witness Changes Story, Says No Neck Grab

Discussion: RedState, Daily Wire, Washington Post, Fox News, neo-neocon, The Right Scoop, Business Insider and The Guardian

Christina Manduley / CNN:
Tapper: If you can't condemn an assault on a reporter, reexamine your love for Constitution

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Missoulian:
Missoulian rescinds Gianforte endorsement

Discussion: New York Times, Business Insider, Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, CNNMoney, ABC News, The Week, ThinkProgress, KTVQ-TV, IJR and The Resurgent

Matthew Balan / Mediaite:
‘You Are Sadly Mistaken’: Don Lemon Rips CNN Guest Who Won't Blame Trump For Alleged Assault On Reporter

Discussion: twitchy.com and theGrio

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Montana Republican Greg Gianforte, Charged With Assault, Awaits Fate in Vote

Discussion: Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, Esquire, Washington Monthly, Heat Street, OpenSecrets.org, Great Falls Tribune, Daily Wire, IJR, vice, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, Booman Tribune, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo, Right Wing Watch and Townhall.com

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Reporter: Only true thing in Gianforte's assault statement is my name and employer

Discussion: Vox and Politico

Jason Jarrett / Gallatin Media Center:
Update on Assault Investigation

Discussion: The Week, The Hill, NPR, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Shareblue, Business Insider, TheBlaze and Rewire

Justin Mitchell / Reuters:
Republican candidate charged with assault, roiling Trump's Montana test

Discussion: Daily Wire

Helena Independent Record:
AN IR VIEW: Independent Record withdraws endorsement of Gianforte

Discussion: Business Insider, IJR and Washington Post

NBC News:

Jared Kushner Now Under FBI Scrutiny in Russia Probe, Say Officials — Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and one of his senior advisers, has come under FBI scrutiny in the Russia investigation, multiple U.S. officials told NBC News. — Investigators believe Kushner …

Discussion: Political Wire, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Raw Story

Washington Post:

Jared Kushner now a focus in Russia investigation — Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and an influential White House adviser, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and related matters, according to people familiar with the investigation.

BBC:

Manchester attack: Police ‘not sharing information with US’ — Police investigating the Manchester Arena bomb attack have stopped sharing information with the US after leaks to the media, the BBC understands. — UK officials were outraged when photos appearing to show debris from the attack appeared in the New York Times.

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Trump chastises fellow NATO members, demands they meet payment obligations — BRUSSELS — President Trump, speaking at a ceremony here Thursday to dedicate a memorial to NATO's resolve in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, publicly chastised his fellow alliance leaders …

Discussion: New York Times, Political Wire, Weasel Zippers, RedState and Daily Kos

New York Times:
Trump Condemns ‘Alleged Leaks,’ After Complaints From Britain

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, Daily Mail, The Guardian, CNBC, Business Insider, NY State of Politics, Mother Jones, The Root, AOL and vice

Karen Attiah / Washington Post:
Trump's behavior at NATO is a national embarrassment

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and The Mahablog

New York Times:
In NATO Speech, Trump Is Vague About Mutual Defense Pledge

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Vox, War on the Rocks, Mother Jones, The Week, CNBC, New York Magazine, Sputnik International and Mediaite

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Appeals Court Will Not Reinstate Trump's Revised Travel Ban — WASHINGTON — The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., on Thursday refused to reinstate President Trump's revised travel ban, saying it discriminated on the basis of religion. The decision was a fresh setback …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, Fusion, Above the Law and Daily Kos

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Appeals court keeps block on revised Trump travel ban; administration vows SCOTUS appeal — President Donald Trump's revised travel ban executive order suffered another legal defeat Thursday, prompting the administration to vow an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Axios, ABC News and Hot Air

CNN:
Appeals court upholds block on Trump's travel ban; administration to appeal to Supreme Court

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Common Dreams, Daily Wire and Refinery29

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed:
Federal Appeals Court Upholds The Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump's Travel Ban

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Senate Republicans likely to change custom that allows Democrats to block judicial choices

Discussion: Politico

Wall Street Journal:

How Alleged Russian Hacker Teamed Up With Florida GOP Operative — Political consultant Aaron Nevins asked for and received documents from hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ and posted some on his blog, after which the hacker called the blog to the attention of Trump adviser Roger Stone.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Gizmodo, Fast Company, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Raw Story and Balloon Juice

artnet News:

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Failed to Disclose Their Multimillion-Dollar Art Collection — The couple has a taste for the works of market-friendly art stars, but lawyers say it's just for decoration. — Since their wedding in 2009, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have amassed a formidable collection of contemporary art.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week and Raw Story

Rob Tornoe / Philly.com:

Fox News host Sean Hannity takes a vacation after losing more advertisers — Sean Hannity is taking a couple days off amid a growing advertiser boycott after pushing a conspiracy theory involving a slain Democratic National Committee staffer. — So far, seven advertisers have pulled …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill, The Daily Beast, The Resurgent, Conservative News Today, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and The Gateway Pundit

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox News Says Sean Hannity Will Return to Show

Discussion: AOL, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon

Laura Litvan / Bloomberg:

Senate Mulls Health-Law Rewrite Pushing Obamacare Repeal to 2020 — Senators working to craft more modest version than House plan — Little progress on difficult issue: Future of Obamacare taxes — Senate Republicans are weighing a two-step process to replace Obamacare that would postpone …

Discussion: Politico, Hot Air and CNBC

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
Senate Republicans start their version of Obamacare repeal

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Bryan Menegus / Gizmodo:

Harvard's Student Paper Is Drunk and Taking Potshots at Mark Zuckerberg — The Harvard Crimson has either become the victim of an incredibly funny prank, or Facebook is beta-testing its silent speech brain interface on college students. — Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg returned …

Discussion: CNBC, New York Times, IJR, Fusion and AOL

Daniel Bice / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Sheriff Clarke directed staff to hassle plane passenger after brief exchange — Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. was sued earlier this year in the wake of a brief exchange with Riverwest resident Dan Black aboard an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Milwaukee. The sheriff has now given his version of what happened.

George Kelly / East Bay Times:

Berkeley: College professor arrested as assault suspect — BERKELEY — A former Diablo Valley College professor was in custody Wednesday evening after his arrest Wednesday afternoon in Oakland, according to county records. — Eric Clanton, 28, was being held on $200,000 bail after he was booked …

Discussion: Heat Street, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, Mediaite, RedState, Red Alert Politics and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

‘Anyone . . . with a pulse’: How a Russia-friendly adviser found his way into the Trump campaign — As Donald Trump surged in the Republican primary polls in the early months of 2016, his outsider campaign faced growing pressure to show that the former reality-TV star …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Week

Daily Mail:

Obama receives rock star welcome in Germany as he appears alongside Merkel and says 'we can't hide behind a wall' — Former President Obama appeared alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday in front of Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate — Obama used the opportunity …

Discussion: Daily Wire and Weasel Zippers

Austin Wright / Politico:

FBI won't provide Comey memos to Congress yet — The FBI on Thursday declined a congressional request for explosive memos by former Director James Comey detailing his interactions with President Donald Trump. — The House Oversight Committee and other congressional panels requested …

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Morning Consult, Media Matters for America and Above the Law

Alexandra Desanctis / National Review:

‘I Might . . . Pull Off a Leg or Two’ — Center for Medical Progress video (via YouTube) — A shocking new undercover video exposes the grisly reality of ripping apart fetuses. — A shocking new video has just been released by the Center for Medical Progress, the undercover investigative group …

Discussion: The Daily Signal, Hot Air, RedState, TheBlaze, Students for Life, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Wire and twitchy.com

Jessica Haynes / MLive.com:

Ann Arbor restaurant says ICE agents ate breakfast, then detained 3 workers — ANN ARBOR, MI - The owner of Ann Arbor's Sava's Restaurant said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials took at least three of her employees into custody the morning of Wednesday, May 24.

Discussion: The Tab, Fusion and The Week

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

The Assault on Colleges — and the American Dream — The country's most powerful engine of upward mobility is under assault. — Public colleges have an unmatched record of lofting their students into the middle class and beyond. For decades, they have enrolled teenagers and adults …

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump's “street fighters” — West Wing officials are prepping for a years-long war with investigators and the bureaucracy, with plans to beef up legal, surrogate, communications and rapid-response teams as part of a “new normal” for President Trump — besieged.

Discussion: Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly and Mediaite